K5IIs -positive impressions from Photokina

[pinholecam]

Adam from PF tried out the K5IIs and is very positive of this camera.
Before anyone thinks that the owner of PF would certainly be a fanboy and give a biased impression, do note that Adam has never been biased regarding his views and reviews on Pentax stuff.


The Pentax K-5 II / K-5 IIs Report - Pentax Camera News & Rumors - PentaxForums.com


We have to admit that prior to arriving at Photokina, we were not overly-impressed by Pentax's announcement of the K-5 II and K-5 IIs.  The two new cameras seemed to share almost everything in common with their predecessor except for a few minor changes, and they were already outclassed in some areas by Pentax's mid-range K-30, which was launched this summer.

However, after trying the camera out and gaining a deeper insight into the hardware after our interview with Pentax, we're confident that the K-5 IIs is in fact a significant upgrade over the K-5 in terms of not only autofocus and handling, but also, and most notably, image quality.
In total, four major changes distinguish the K-5 II from its predecessor:
A new autofocus system with improved accuracy and reduced latency, able to make measurements in as little as -3EV ambient light
A new air-gap-less LCD screen designed to be easy to see when outdoors
Improved firmware with better stability and new AF features, including AF area expansion
Removal of the anti-aliasing filter from the sensor, resulting in greatly increased resolution at the risk of seeing moire in images (K-5 IIs only)

 

[pinholecam]

While we were not allowed to bring any sample photos from the K-5 IIs home, we took several while we were there, and they sure looked sharp! Just about any camera can take a sharp test photo, though.  What convinced us that the removal of the AA filter wasn't a mere gimmick, however, was an internal study that Pentax conducted with the camera- it surprised even their own engineers, who jokingly said that K-5 IIs has the ability to reveal facial features that you never thought were there!  We saw a side-by-side comparison of a photo from the K-5 II and the same photo from the K-5 IIs and were (almost) instantly sold.  The K-5 IIs appeared to have a very clear increase in resolution (but of course you do have to factor in the risk of seeing moire patterns in your images)! Pentax claimed that this sort of resultion was "unprecendented" in its class. Pentax also promised to send us these sample photos, and we will post them as soon as they do.

 

[pinholecam]

Next, let's talk about the two things most users will find the most important: the autofocus and the image quality.  We did have the opportunity to sit down with a K-5 IIs behind-the-scenes and test it for a good while, although the conditions were nowhere near good enough for us to be able to perform a fully controlled test.  What we ended up doing is a rudimentary AF accuracy test: we placed two objects in front of the camera, one three feet in behind the other.  We selected continuous autofocus mode (AF.C) and cut loose at max FPS until the buffer filled up, constantly switching between the two targets.  This test was repeated with the same lens (DA 50mm F1.8) and settings (using focus priority rather than release priority) on the old K-5 and found that all but one image from the K-5 IIs was perfectly in focus, while about half a dozen of the ones from the K-5 were soft. 

 

[jasonlel]

Hmmmm sounds good....

 

[jasonlel]

Anything on the AF point size?

 

[fengwei]

Sounds great! I'm sure some guys here would love to have it

 

[Iittoo]

When will you be getting hands on the sample fengwei? I think everyone would like to touch touch and feel the new k5II during the outings.

 

[flowerpot]

when is the launch date in SIN ?

 

[oceanpriest]

so what's the date for october outing? :bsmilie:

 

[jasonlel]

Sounds great! I'm sure some guys here would love to have it

Two hands up!!!!

 

[gtl1987]

Previously under Emjay, they were generous and supportive thus they lent the new camera bodies. Now its switching to APD, lets not keep our hopes too high....

 

[flowerpot]

im sure the new distro if they have it they will loan out the cam for a quick hands on review.... but i more interested in the price...

 

[pinholecam]

Previously under Emjay, they were generous and supportive thus they lent the new camera bodies. Now its switching to APD, lets not keep our hopes too high....

Yes, Emjay was pretty generous about it previously.

However, Wongse and others have been passed the Sigma stuff like the DP2 for review too, so I think if the have a sample camera, APD would let someone on CS review it too.

 

[hellfire88]

hmm the price will still be a big determining factor for me.

 

[PhilipKr35]

im sure the new distro if they have it they will loan out the cam for a quick hands on review.... but i more interested in the price...

My price guess....S$1250 for body K5 IIs

 

[flowerpot]

My price guess....S$1250 for body K5 IIs

That would be nice but think it will S$1600 there abouts or even S$1800... S$1600 will be for K5-II

 

[PhilipKr35]

That would be nice but think it will S$1600 there abouts or even S$1800... S$1600 will be for K5-II

You are right indeed....preorder at
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/891519-REG/Pentax_12050_K_5_II_Digital_SLR.html/KWID/home/

 

[Bridgerock]

Same price as when K5 was launched. Hmmm...can consider buying it. Need some real life samples though.

 

[sunnycamera]

if look back at K7 which is launched in 2009,
now 2012, after 3 year, now K7 is around 500 sgd in BnS 2nd hand.

current K5 is launched in 2010,
after launch of K5II, it is almost 2013, current K5 would be around 700 sgd in BnS 2nd, just like old K7.

brand new K30 is already available at 850 sgd, and 2nd hand K5 is around 950sgd.

still quite competitive options for the old model, it is like taking 3 years to drop to 1/3 of original launch price.

 

[Iittoo]

Lets just hope that the prices locally remain when the distributor switch over.. usually the price locally for pentax is relatively cheaper than other countries when the time K30 was launched right?